What are your thoughts on Bouldering?

It depends on the conditions that you do it under.

Bouldering can be safe, you just have to have mats to land on, and it can take a larger toll on the body.

where standard climbing, you are always clipped in, so you never really "fall" like you do in bouldering.

Begining bouldering on a course is pretty safe, I was really nervouse the first time and I am an experienced climber, but had never free climbed. Take some lessons first, they start you off small with mats and spotters under you so if you fall the spotters use body block technics to guide you away from obstacles as you fall. You can try bouldering in safety harness until you get used to it. It is scary at first, but very freeing when you get the hang of it, but I would never recommend it for a novice climber.